TT tributes to late Guyanese activist, Andaiye

THE Network NGOs of TT and the Emancipation Support Committee joined other people and groups in the region to express its condolences on the passing of Guyanese social, political, and gender rights activist Sandra Williams, also known as Andaiye.

She died on May 31 at the Woodlands Hospital, Carmichael Street, Georgetown, Andaiye was 77.

In a statement, both groups declared, "Andaiye is an outstanding example of the generation that did not sleep to dream but dreamed to change the world. Her spirit lives on." They said Andaiye will be remembered through her actions and commitment to transform Caribbean society from its inherited inequalities to a more just and humane one. Andaiye was an executive member of the Working People's Alliance (WPA) and worked closely with that party's late leader Dr Walter Rodney.

Andaiye was the co-founder of Red Thread, a rights activism based organisation in Guyana. The network and the committee recalled working with Andaiye in the fight for the rights of people of African/Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. She was an executive member of the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action and with the Women and Development Unit of the University of the West Indies from 1987 to 1992.

Andaiye also worked with Caricom from 1987 to 1996 where she was a resource person preparatory to the 1995 World Conference on Women held in Beijing. Other groups with which she worked include the Global Women's Strike. A cancer survivor for 30 years, Andaiye was a founder of the Guyana Cancer Society and Cancer Survivors Action Group.

In a statement, the WPA said, "Until the very end, she remained a committed soldier of the cause of social justice, women and children rights, working class liberation and ethnic and racial equality." Guyana Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo also paid tribute to Andaiye.

He said, "Andaiye was a champion of the working people and a model fighter for women empowerment." Nagamootoo added that Andaiye will be remembered best for her frontline place in the struggle against authoritarian rule.